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Political Science and International Relations
Modern and Contemporary Political Thought

Modern and Contemporary Political Thought

Code	12268
Year	3
Semester	S2
ECTS Credits	6
Workload	OT(15H)/TP(45H)
Scientific area	Ciência Política
Entry requirements	None.
Mode of delivery	Face-to-face-
Work placements	Not applicable.
Learning outcomes	The aim is to understand modern and political contemporary thought in the light of their fundamental issues; locate a variety of figures, schools and lines of thought in their multi-cultural contexts; emphasize the cultural relevance of contemporary thought at the present time. The student must be able to make judgments about the relevant moments of contemporary thought and about the complexity of the present moment of cultural transition. The aim is to understand modern and contemporary political thought in the light of their fundamental issues; locate a variety of figures, schools and lines of thought in their multi-cultural contexts; emphasize the cultural relevance of contemporary thought at the present time. The student must be able to make judgments about the relevant moments of modern and contemporary political thought and about the complexity of the present moment of cultural transition.
Syllabus	Modern Political Thought 1. Machiavelli’s Political Legacy 1.1. Machiavelli, Machiavellism and Antimachiavellism 1.2. Machiavellism and Reason of State 1.3. Maxims of State, Secrets of State, Master Strokes of State and Reason of State in Gabriel Naudé 1.3.1. From medieval “Mysteries of State” to modern “Coups d’État” 1.4. The problem of political appearance in Machiavelli and its relationship with judgment and with inganno 1.5. Machiavelli and political conspiracies 1.6. Machiavelli’s Republicanism and Populism: The letter and the spirit Contemporary Political Thought 3. Topics of Political Thought in 20th Century 3.1. Carl Schmitt and “The Concept of the Political” 3.2. Walter Benjamin and “The Critique of Violence” 3.3. Leo Strauss: “Persecution and the Art of Writing”” 3.4. Michel Foucault and the “Eye of Power”: Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticum 3.5. Michel Foucault and Neoliberalism 3.6. Giorgio Agamben and the “State of Exception”
Main Bibliography	MARTELLI, Mario, Niccolò Machiavelli. Tutte le Opere, introduzione de Michele Ciliberto, coordinamento di Pier David Accendere, Bompiani, Firenze, 1971. BENTO, António, «Maquiavel, o Pai da Filosofia Política Moderna», entrevista à Revista do Instituto Humanitas Unisinos, nº 427 - Ano XIII - 16/09/2013 - ISSN 1981-8769, in http://www.ihuonline.unisinos.br/index.php?secao=427 BENTO, António (Org.), Maquiavel e o Maquiavelismo, Editora Almedina, Coimbra, 2012. BENTO, António (org.), Razão de Estado e Democracia, Editora Almedina, Coimbra, 2012. BENTO, António, “Machiavelli’s Treatment of Congiure and the Modern Oath”, in Le Sacré et la parole. Le serment au Moyen Âge, Aurell, Martin, Aurell, Jaume, Herrero, Montserrat (editors), Classiques Garnier, Paris, 2018, pp. 267-297. SKINNER, Quentin, As fundações do pensamento político moderno, Editora Companhia das Letras, São Paulo, 1996.
Language	Portuguese. Tutorial support is available in English.